Chapter 10 - The Sister Who Remembered Everything
The bracelet was still in my hand.
I couldn't let go.
The faded letters.
The old hospital tag.
The name my mother had written.
Find your sister.
But I was looking at her.
She was standing in front of me.
Breathing.
Alive.
My sister.
The woman who looked exactly like me stared back with tears in her eyes.
For twenty-five years, she had existed somewhere outside my life.
And I had existed outside hers.
Two people who should have grown up together.
Two people separated before they could even remember each other.
"Your name..."
My voice cracked.
She looked down.
"My name is Claire."
I swallowed.
"Claire Hawthorne?"
She nodded.
The name felt strange.
Not because it was unfamiliar.
Because it felt like it belonged to a life I never lived.
Charles stood behind her.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like he had planned this moment.
Like he wanted me to see her.
I turned toward him.
"You knew."
He didn't deny it.
"Yes."
My anger rose.
"You knew she was alive."
"Yes."
"You knew where she was."
"Yes."
Every answer made it worse.
I stepped toward him.
"Then why did you let me believe I was alone?"
Charles looked at me calmly.
"Because you were safer that way."
I laughed.
A broken sound.
"Safer?"
I pointed around the room.
"My mother was locked underground."
My eyes moved to Claire.
"My sister was taken away."
I looked back at him.
"And you call that safe?"
Charles remained silent.
Claire looked at him.
"You never changed."
For the first time, Charles looked at her.
Not like a stranger.
Like someone who had disappointed him.
"You survived."
Her expression hardened.
"Despite you."
The room became tense.
Adrian moved closer to me.
"Elena."
I looked at him.
He lowered his voice.
"Don't let him control the conversation."
I understood.
Charles had spent decades controlling every room he entered.
Every person.
Every story.
Even the truth.
Especially the truth.
I looked at Claire.
"Tell me everything."
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"I was born first."
My eyes moved to her.
"What?"
She touched the bracelet around her wrist.
"That's what they told me."
She looked at Charles.
"They said I was the original."
The word made me uncomfortable.
"Original?"
Claire nodded.
"Charles believed the first child carried the stronger Hawthorne bloodline."
I stared.
"This is insane."
"Yes."
Her voice was quiet.
"It was."
She looked at me.
"But it was real."
She took a breath.
"When we were born, my mother wanted both of us."
My heart tightened.
"Your mother?"
She looked at my mother lying on the bed.
"Our mother."
The words hit me.
Our mother.
Not my mother.
Not hers.
Ours.
Claire continued.
"But Charles didn't want twins."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because he believed two heirs meant two threats."
Adrian answered.
"He wanted one child he could control."
Claire nodded.
"He chose me."
I froze.
"What?"
Her eyes filled with pain.
"He raised me inside the Hawthorne family."
A pause.
"At least, he tried."
I looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
Claire smiled sadly.
"It means he thought he owned me."
She looked at Charles.
"But I was never his."
The old man said nothing.
Claire continued.
"When I was sixteen, I found the files."
My stomach tightened.
"The same files my mother found?"
She nodded.
"I learned about the people who disappeared."
She looked around the hidden hospital.
"I learned what this place was."
The room felt colder.
"And then I found your name."
My breath caught.
"My name?"
She nodded.
"You."
I stared.
"What did it say?"
Claire looked at me.
"It said Elena Hawthorne had been removed from the system."
Removed.
Not killed.
Not missing.
Removed.
"Why?"
She looked at Charles.
"Because he couldn't control you."
Charles finally spoke.
"Enough."
Everyone turned.
His voice was calm.
But underneath it was something else.
Anger.
Claire ignored him.
"Your mother escaped with you."
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
"I don't remember."
Claire nodded.
"Because Charles found you."
A silence followed.
My fingers tightened.
"What did he do?"
Nobody answered.
Then my mother spoke.
Her voice was weak.
"He took you back."
I turned toward her.
She looked devastated.
"He took you from my arms."
The room disappeared.
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"You said you didn't leave me."
She reached for my hand.
"I didn't."
Tears rolled down her face.
"They did."
I held her hand.
The same hand I remembered from childhood.
The same hand I thought I would never touch again.
"Then how did I survive?"
My mother looked at Claire.
Claire answered.
"Because someone helped you escape."
"Who?"
Claire looked toward Adrian.
My heart stopped.
Adrian looked away.
I stared at him.
"You?"
He didn't answer.
"Adrian."
Slowly, he nodded.
"I was eighteen."
I couldn't believe it.
"You knew me?"
"I knew about you."
"Where was I?"
His eyes filled with regret.
"Hidden."
"By who?"
He hesitated.
Then:
"Your mother."
I looked at my mother.
She nodded.
"After I escaped, I knew they would search for you."
She touched my face.
"So I changed your identity."
I whispered:
"Elena Carter."
She nodded.
"The name of a woman who saved my life."
I remembered.
A name.
A woman I thought was just someone my mother knew.
But she had given me more than a name.
She had given me a chance.
The room became quiet.
Then the alarms started.
Everyone turned.
A red light began flashing.
Adrian looked toward the ceiling.
"No."
Claire stood.
"What?"
He looked at Charles.
"Someone else found the files."
Charles' expression changed.
For the first time all night...
Real fear appeared.
The security monitors turned on.
One by one.
The screens showed the estate.
The gates.
The hallways.
The underground rooms.
Then one screen changed.
A camera feed from outside.
A group of vehicles had arrived.
Not security.
Not police.
Something else.
Claire moved closer.
Her face turned pale.
"No."
I looked at her.
"Who is that?"
She didn't answer.
The main entrance camera zoomed in.
A man stepped out of the first vehicle.
Older.
Powerful.
Familiar.
Charles looked at the screen.
And whispered:
"He wasn't supposed to come back."
I stared.
"Who?"
Charles didn't look at me.
His voice was barely audible.
"The first Hawthorne heir."
The screen showed the man's face.
And beneath it appeared a name.
A name that made Claire drop the bracelet from her hand.
Daniel Hawthorne.
Then the man outside looked directly into the camera.
May you like
And smiled.
Because he knew we were watching.
